


To Catch Granades

by FeatherQuill



Category: The Hobbit RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, First Kiss, First Time, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-19
Updated: 2015-10-19
Packaged: 2018-04-27 03:28:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5032024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeatherQuill/pseuds/FeatherQuill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Richard doesn´t have a problem with Lee.  He is a good cop, the other guys already love him even if he is an American that just transferred a month ago – something Richard hasn´t quite accomplished in twenty years – He has nothing against the man , but there is something nagging at him – and then, at a sunny Sunday when Lee pokes his head into his office, it hits him. Oh shit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Catch Granades

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I had that idea in my head for quite a while and now it wanted out. So here it is, enjoy and let me know what you think (if you want to ;) )<3 :D

Richard doesn´t have a problem with Lee. He is a good cop, the other guys already love him even if he is an American that just transferred a month ago – something Richard hasn´t quite accomplished in twenty years – He has nothing against the man , but there is something nagging at him – and then, at a sunny Sunday when Lee pokes his head into his office, it hits him. Oh shit.

 

** 10.August  **

Richard Armitage had always known which path his life would go. He was a creature of habits, liked his things in order and he knew that his fellow officers had a good laugh about it behind his back. Fortunately he didn´t give a shit about such things and nobody could rile him up. Well, almost nobody. As if on cue, the door to his office banged open and a smiling face popped into his view. It was -if he thought of it long enough, a rather handsome face that he would like to to kiss and do other things to he isn´t ready to admit to himself right now, because this is work - and Lee is a coworker, easy at that. He straightens his stapler with a sigh and looks up at the smiling man practically bouncing in front of his desk. Must be an American thing, he muses and raises both eyebrows in question.

“Yes, Pace?”

Lee just ignores his sour tone, flops down into the chair opposite Richard and stretches his long legs out on the surface of Richards once neat desk. 

“Oh come on, Richard. No surnames, we are nearly alone, remember?”

The man has the nerve to say with a wriggle of his bushy eyebrows making Richard flush and rearrange the things on his desk once again before throwing him a look that usually results in barking dogs scuttle of with their tail between their legs. Lee, however is unfazed and chews a gum. Richard stares at that smiling mouth and takes a breath, counts to ten. Lees left foot knocks a stack of papers he had sorted and wanted to file away off and over the floor. He continued to count to twenty, taking a deep, reassuring breath through his nose while Lee has the grace to look sheepish and jumps to clear up the mess he made while talking.

“I didn´t do that on purpose.” 

He says with a grin before he bends down and scoops everything up into a messy pile and places it back on Richards desk.  
“Well...I came here with a mission.”  
Richard feels the blood in body rush into his face and hammering away in his ears as his mind helpfully supplies images that have not the slightest to do with the things Lee is probably talking about. 

“A mission?”

Lee beams at him over his shoulder, eyes twinkling. Richard feels the need to yell at the janitor for not fixing the air condition yet. Tosser. 

“Yeah. You know, the other guys didn´t want to try.”  
The American says with a nod in the general direction into the bullpen where a few pairs of eyes are watching and trying not to get caught at it. Richard wonders how on earth some of them came to be cops without being able to at least to pretend to their jobs.  
“I can´t imagine.”  
The older man says, dry as sandpaper, eyes fixed on the cactus in the corner of his office. He just doesn´t have a green thumb. 

“Yeah, me neither. What could be wrong in asking if you want to join us for a pub crawl?”

Of course Lee wouldn´t catch on to his irony – or he just doesn´t want to. The pencil Richard has in his hand to distract himself from the thoughts not suitable for work snaps in half. Lee just blinks and shrugs. 

“I guess that is a no, then?”

He guesses right. Richard doesn´t join the others and he pretends he does so because he has work to do and not because he could, given the right circumstances – do something really stupid. 

 

** 15.September **

There are cases that go under everybody’s skin, no matter how long you are on the job. Especially when children are involved. Richard is still shaking inwardly a bit while waiting with Lee and a boy about four years old in a fish and chips joint wolfing down the second plate already while they wait for social services to arrive. The poor lads mother has drunk herself to death and nobody had noticed until it _smelled_. Richard shudders at the thought again and his eyes fly to Lee who manages to talk to the boy in quiet and even tones. Another hour passes until the social worker arrives and Lee smiles at her, like he smiles at everyone, even people Richard and the rest of the world would file away under _shit_. 

“And remember, Rowan, if there is trouble you just call us.” 

The boy takes the offered card while Richard states the facts and is surprised as he, too – gets a hug. He awkwardly pats the boy on the back and ruffles his hair, exchanging a glance with Lee, whose expression flickers but soon turns into a smile again until they have left and he deflates somewhat. 

“Want to go for a drink?”

Richard says before he can stop himself and if he could he would arrest his brain. Oh, that day has really done him in. 

“Yeah, sure.”

Lee says and follows Richard out after they paid (naturally Lee wanted to split the bill if he wasn´t allowed to pay it in whole.) and they end up in a bar mostly occupied by cops. In horror sees before he can steer Lee away and out that there are familiar faces. Martin gives them a raised eyebrow, knowing full well that Richard normally doesn´t go into pubs like that and has stated that very clearly in the past while Luke just throws them a big grin and waltzes over. 

“Howdy there.”  
He says to Lee in what should sound like a Texan accent but comes out as a very poor try of Lees beautiful voice. Wait a minute, _what_? Richard shakes his head to clear it, all the while watching Lee who smiles a little strained.  
“Hi Luke. “  
He says rather briskly and looks at the floor while Luke drapes an arm around Lees shoulders – well, he tries but Lee moves away, making the other man scowl. 

“Oh. I see.”

Luke all but hisses and glares at Richard who momentarily is at a loss, not knowing what he stumbled into until Lee clenches his teeth and steps closer, all tense muscles and ready to strike. 

“No, you don´t. You made very clear what you want and what not. So deal with it, or I will personally cut off your prick and feed it to my dog.”

The room falls silent for a moment because Lee hadn´t been silent at all in his rage but the point seemed to have come across because Luke swallowed and nodded. 

“Well then, suit yourself.”

It goes back to normal after that, save for Richard who owlishly blinks at his beer, holding out another to Lee.

“Thanks.”

The American says and Richard doesn´t ask. They sit in silence for a while until Richard can´t take it anymore. He turns on his stool by the bar and sidles closer to Lee.

“You know, to be fair – I wouldn´t cut off his prick and feed it to your dog. You don´t want to poison the poor fella, do you?”

For a moment Lee stops drinking from his beer, sputters and laughs and for no reason at all Richard feels something in his chest flutter and expand without caring. _Maybe_ , a little hopeful voice in the back of his head tells him, no longer with the hesitation. _Maybe_ makes his heart pound beneath his bones and leads him wipe away the foam from Lees smiling mouth. 

 

** 23.December  **

Richard tries to get his thoughts in order. He really does, but everything is white and whirling around his fuzzy head like the snowstorm outside. Everything smells like antiseptic and hospital and there are nurses and doctors rushing by. There is nothing in his brain but a prayer, running through his mind over and over again until he feels wetness wanting to gather in his eyes but forces it back with a stupor. Graham crouches down in front of him, holding out a cup of coffee. He takes it with shaking hands not looking at the other man. 

“Thanks.”  
He manages. Graham sees right through it, touches his shoulder warm an reassuring, trying to help where the logical part of Richards brain _knows_ there is nothing either of them can do. He blinks, sees Luke and Martin run down the hallway, thundering into his direction. 

“We came as soon as we heard, is he..”  
Richard gives Luke a stare, hard and unyielding before he looks at Martin.  
“Surgery.”  
He says brisk and cold, ignoring the coffee getting cold in his limb fingers. _Maybe_ echoes through his mind again, this time mocking and like sucker punch that makes him double over in pain. He doesn´t dare to close his eyes because if he does so, he might fall asleep and then the images will come back. The images of Lee smiling at him in the bullpen, charmed by his awkward flirting and blushing you wouldn´t expect from a grown man that wanted to ask someone out on a date after _months_ of pining. There it is again, that _maybe_ , carving its way through his body and soul leaving him numb. 

“Armitage.”

Graham says in a gruff voice that robs him from the vain hope that this is some sort of fucked up nightmare. _God_ , he thinks and blinks at Graham who is a close enough friend that he doesn´t punch his lights out for doing so, trying to focused. 

“What happened?”

There is something close to madness in his eyes, he knows but who wouldn´t look mad if said person had seen someone get shot right in front of them. It was – well- he laughed. It was the laugh of a man riding on the last of his nerves. A man who had just asked his coworker of the last months out on a date because Christmas was around the corner and the reply he had gotten from the potential date had been a beaming smile, accompanied by the promise of a pot roast as long as Richard would wear one of this hilarious sweaters for him. A dry sob rises in his throat and Martin drags Luke away, promising they will write the report of the incident. 

They had gotten a call shortly after the date had been settled and Richard,by god – had felt _happy_.  
That had been two hours before all his plans had been torn to shreds. The call had come in unexpected but had been nothing out of the ordinary. A complaint about noise. It still rings in Richards ears. The man whose neighbors had called them was piss drunk, angry, and still Lee tried to talk sense into the guy. Richard should have stopped him, pulled him back, hell, he should have seen the gun but all he can see now is the disbelieving look on Lees face as he staggered back against him, wide eyed. 

“Don´t.”  
Graham says again after having heard enough. But he does, he wants to feel guilty as he sees feet and legs of doctors and nurses pass him by. There is another voice piercing his cloudy thoughts. 

“We do what we can but your partner has lost a lot of blood.”

It is enough for him to rise to his feet and because he is a cop the doctor doesn´t even flinch and lets him through once they are finished operating. There are beeping noises, and tubes. Lee looks pale, none of those idiotic smiles on his face and he wonders what in this world is wrong that something like this is allowed to happen. He doesn´t know how long he sits there but his legs cramp and there is crick in his neck when he awakes to something touching his wrist. That something is Lees finger, gently poking him and he hollers for a doctor before he slumps forward and grips Lees hand in his without another word. 

_Merry Christmas_ Richard, he tells himself with a glance at the clock and then, only then once Lees fingers crawl up into his hairline, he allows himself to weep. 

 

** 23\. February **

“Flowers?”

Martin says with a roll of his eyes, chuckling at Richard. 

“It´s a date after all.”

He says without understanding and looking at the sunflowers in his hands with a frown. Lee is still on leave and once he will return he will get a nice desk job (not that Richard had to do anything with that , mind you. And if anybody told Lee otherwise, well – they would be writing parking tickets for the rest of their carrier.) 

“Yes.”

Martin says and gives him a look that tells him that he obviously has made a grave mistake. 

“The _third_ date.”

The shorter man says and stresses the word _third_ but Richard only blinks for a while, which has Luke rolling his eyes on the way to the coffeemaker. 

“You know about the third date, right? Switch that for a strip of condoms, mate.”

Luke swiftly dodges the flowers that are thrown his way with a chuckle while Richard manages to blush until he feels his face burning. Luke, however he loads the guy sometimes, has a point. Not that Lee didn´t want to, from the way he had fallen into that first tentative brush of lips while trying to walk again without gasping for breath in the hospital a month ago. Richard had cheered him on and Lee had told him where to stick that. Hell, they had managed to get into a shouting match before he had grabbed the man in front of him and kissed the stuffing out of him until they were both breathless. There had been a blush staining Lees cheeks and his eyes had sparkled before he had smiled at Richard and given back as good as he had gotten. 

After that they had decided to take it slow. Slow, if you believed Martin, was the little sister to dying of blue balls. He had hit the other man with a notepad then but Martin, like Graham had only given a snort.

“So, third date?”

Graham says, munching on a doughnut and grinning. Richard gives up, throws his arms up in the air and all but stomps out of this madhouse. He manages to make it home and check his appearance in the mirror until the doorbell rings. Never the less he nearly jumps out of his skin once Lee enters and hands him a bottle of wine to go with the fish he ordered. Normally he would have cooked but his nerves, his poor nerves didn´t play along and he had given up after the second try. 

“Hey.”

Lee says with a smile and bright eyes, leaning in for a kiss that Richard nearly misses because of the third date thing running wild in his imagination.

“Oh no. Not you too.”

The American sighs and laughs, filling Richard in on some of the texts he got from Martin. 

“I am going to kill him.”

Richard mumbles but Lee just takes his hands and looks down. 

“True to be told, I ..kind of ..you know I am not really hungry.”

He says with a blush and it makes Richard forget all about the fish, or anything other than the man in front of him. He thinks that it isn´t fair that love slowly crept up on him and he is afraid that maybe Lee doesn´t feel the same but there are all those little glances and touches and then..there would be the voice, close to his ear, warm and promising.

“In fact. I think I am in trouble, you know.”

Richard stares at their hands, imagines rings and blinks against the dizziness that makes that image so right after a few weeks of figuring it out for himself. 

“Oh?”

Lee looks hesitant, vulnerable and the older man can´t blame him, is certain that there is a matching expression on his own face. 

“Yeah, you see. I ..uh – despite what you might have _heard_ I do not sleep around. I am that cheesy guy who believes in falling in love and mostly gets dumped in the end.”

Richards eyes darkened. Luke would be on parking duty for a while – not that it would be his decision but he could make a suggestion.

“The guy must be an idiot then. I wouldn´t dumb you. If I.. god this is getting awkward.”

Lee just chuckles, noticing that they are still standing in the hallway and holding hands.  
“Do you want me to make a mess so you can clean it up?”  
He tries and Richard gives him the stink eye before chuckling. They eat after all and make it as far as dessert while talking pleasantly about this and that, making the time pass and minds ease. It is when a plate clatters and breaks on the kitchen floor that Richard just can´t take it anymore, because the look, that look Lee gives him when he tries to pick up the pieces with his jeans riding low on his hips has him pull the American up and give him a deep, demanding kiss that in turn makes Lee moan. 

“The dishes..”

Lee says and Richard just takes a large breath. 

“Fuck the dishes. Bedroom - upstairs. And if we don´t make it there I don´t give a rats ass, because I finally want to be with the man I love.”

That makes Lee freeze on the spot but he gives Richard one of those blinding smiles when he leans in and whispers that it would make two of them then before his face changes and he turns on his heel and opens his shirt, pulls it over and off his shoulders, dropping it on the floor. 

“Oh in that case I am allowed to make a mess. Wouldn´t miss out on that.” 

There is a teasing note in Lees voice while he disrobes, climbing up the stairs with Richard hot on his heels. The moments Richard had imagined that moment in the past weeks had been countless but none, simply none of the scenarios had been like the reality where he crawls onto the bed, Lee hot and wanting beneath him. Skin on skin. His fingers explore every patch of skin he can get to, linger on a scar. Lee must have seen him swallow, because he tilts Richards chin up, gives him a kiss that makes him forget the dark direction his thoughts want to stray in and sucks his fingers into his mouth. 

“None of that. Come on.”

He doesn´t need to be told twice before he spreads Lees legs open, looking into the younger mans face that is covered in a pretty blush and the mouth that opens on an _ah_ once his slick fingers find their mark and penetrate. The sounds that come from above make him dizzy, his own arousal painfully throbbing against his stomach but he is pulled in and closer, broad hands on his back guiding him until he is almost too close.  
The image Lee makes beneath him when he enters the younger man with something bigger than his fingers burns out the painful images still coming to the surface sometimes. Slack jawed, dark lashes fanning blushing cheeks and the sweat slick sound of skin on skin. It doesn´t take long for either of them to come, not after waiting months and dancing around each other on hot coals.  
When Richard finally pulls out he stays where he is for a moment. He knows they should clean up, talk maybe but Lee just pulls him up, rolls on top of him and brushes a kiss to his lips. 

“So, what´s for breakfast tomorrow?”

No arguing with that. 

** 19\. March  **

 

There is a clatter that makes Richard freeze and turn around. 

“That wasn´t my favorite vase, was it love?”

Lee bites his lip, looks at Carl who is bouncing around his owners feet and barking happily. 

“Uh..no?”

He tries and Richard sits on the only piece of furniture already in the new flat. _Their_ flat, which still sounds bizarre to him but he will get the hang of it. Maybe he can teach Carl a few tricks but if the dog is as clumsy as adorable. He sighs, can already feel another gray hair growing on his head but Lee just presses a kiss to his temple. 

“I could make it up to you?”

A slow smile spreads across Richards face and Lee clears his throat, ducking his head. 

“I was talking about cooking, you pervert.”

He mumbles, hands stuffed into his pockets and Richard just chuckles, stands from the chair he had been sitting on and closes the distance between them, engulfing Lee in his arms and pressing a kiss to his warm cheek. 

“Well, then. You can cook all you want, but first we set up the bed.”

And Lee laughs, bright and loud, a sound Richard wants to hear for the rest of his days but first they have to get everything set up. They will make it, he is sure, even if there are things that could get in their way. 

“Uh..Richard?”

He hears Lee says, poking his head in and gnawing on his bottom lip. 

“Yes?”

For a moment Lee says nothing, then hands him a box that rattles. 

“I think I found your vase.”

Shaking his head, he tossed the box away and stood from where he was assembling the nightstand, grinning. 

“We buy a new one.”

He says and Lee feels like falling in love all over again, all the bad things that happened in the last few months vanishing into thin air.

END


End file.
